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Rating History: Empire (FOX)
EMPIRE (FOX) Empire premiered as a mid-season replacement to a 3.8 on 1/7/2015 in the 9:00 slot, building on a relatively weak American Idol ''(3.4) lead-in. While that was already a phenomenal number for any show, the interesting thing is that it remained the series low for the next ''10 ''seasons. It grew a combined 16% in weeks two and three (to a 4.0 and then a 4.4), an unprecedented feat for a new drama of this era, and then dipped to a 4.3 in the last week of January. It perked back up to a 4.6 for the next episode, and then grew by two tenths of a ratings point in each of the next three weeks (ending up at a 5.4 on 2/25/15). From there, it rose to a 5.8 and held that number again the next week. For its two-part finale, it surged to a 6.1 and then a mammoth 6.9 to cap off the first season. The 5.09 average qualified it as the biggest scripted series of the A18-49+ era, and it was shipped off to Tuesday at 9:00 to anchor a historically weak night for FOX. FOX was able to contract 24 episodes for season two, something that would only happen three times in total for ''Emp''ire. It began the season with a 7.7, up a considerable 12% from the freshman finale. It fell into the mid 6's and remained there for a few weeks before picking up heat and jumping back into the mid 7's for November sweeps. It plummeted to the low 6's after a hiatus, but amazingly leaped to an 8.0 for its midseason finale, and then an 8.4 for the winter premiere. It averaged close to a 7.0 for the next seven weeks, before heading back to the 8 club for week 21. The penultimate episode got up to a 9.0, and then the two-hour finale leaped to a ridiculous 10.2, putting its final average at a 7.48, up 47% from its first season. Season three again brought 24 episodes, and it started with a powerful 11.4 two-hour premiere, up another 12% from the season two finale. It hung in the 10's for weeks 3-6, and then got down to a season low 9.2 on 11/3/17. It steadily climbed back towards its premiere number in weeks 8-11, before notching a 13.4 for the midseason finale. The winter return jumped to a 14.9, and then it dropped into the 13's where it stayed for weeks 14-17. DST brought it down to a 10.3 but it rose into the 11's, 12's, 13's, and 14's in the next four weeks, before peaking at a 17.5 for its two-hour finale on 5/14/17. The final average was a 12.24, up 64% from season two. The last full season of ''Empire was season four, as the producers and cast no longer wished to produce 24 episode seasons, much to the chagrin of FOX. The season began at a 28.3, up 62% from the previous finale. It averaged close to the 20 mark for most of the fall, before getting up to a 31.9 for the midseason finale. It strangely plummeted down to a season low 14.9 for the winter premiere, but quickly reversed its direction and rose in almost every episode leading up to the finale, capping it off with a 42.8 for the two-parter. 25.21 final average, up an unworldly 106% from the previous season. The shorter season five did not bring with it smaller ratings; on the contrary, it had the highest average of any Empire season by a very wide margin, perhaps due to its return to Wednesdays at 9:00 and the on-screen death of Terrence Howard's character. It started off with an unprecedented 54.9 on 9/22/18, up 28% from the season four finale, dropped off into the mid 40's and then the mid 30's over the course of October, before getting back into the 50's during week 7. It hung in the low-mid 50's for the rest of November sweeps, before skyrocketing to a series high 64.5 for its two-hour finale. The final average was a series high 52.42, up a monumental 108% from season four. Empire ''lost its first lead cast member because of backstage drama at the end of the last season, starting a string of cast departures that would ultimately lead to the downfall of this megahit. It began the latter half of its first decade at a 44.1, down a significant 32% over the previous finale and down 20% from the previous premiere. It averaged close to the 30 line for the rest of September and most of October, but then dropped every week in November sweeps, bottoming out at a season low 16.5 on Thanksgiving eve. It did buck the negative trend for the homestretch, soaring to a 25.6 for the penultimate episode and then a 36.5 for the finale, the highest number since the premiere. Overall, the season as a whole was down 45% (28.70 average) from the previous year, but it was still the second highest-rated ''Empire season. FOX jerked Empire up to the Wednesday 8:00 slot for season seven, so it could be used as a lead-in to a new show while it was still a force to be reckoned with. Ultimately the point was moot because the new show flopped, but anyway, it began the season with a 32.7, down a reasonable 10% from the previous finale. At first it was actually on the year-to-year upside, as the show rose in three of the next four weeks, topping off the growth with a season high 36.6 on 10/27/20, Empire's highest rating in over a year. But a hiatus coupled with a multi-episode absence of Taraji Henson caused the show to drop a horrendous 58% in the first week of November, and it hung in the mid-upper 15's for the rest of November sweeps. Things got increasingly troublesome during the penultimate episode, as it dropped to a season low 12.3. The brief return and subsequent final departure of Henson allowed the show to ascend to a 21.7 for the finale, but it was the last time Empire would ever see double digits. Because of the stellar early season performance, the show's final season seven average of 23.45 was down less than 20% from season six. Adults 18-49 info by season: